Many commercial buildings, parking structures, transportation areas or structures (e.g., tunnels), and the like are equipped with lighting systems that typically include several luminaires or light fixtures configured to illuminate certain areas. Some luminaires with LEDs for example can be powered by drivers that are physically wired to the luminaires. The luminaires and the drivers are typically stored in metallic housings (e.g., aluminum housings). In operation, the luminaires and/or the drivers generate significant amounts of heat, which can build up in these metallic housings, and, in turn, affect the performance of these components.
These lighting systems can thus employ heat sinks to help dissipate some of this heat. In these cases, the heat sinks are mechanically or thermally instead of electrically connected to the housings, such that the heat sinks provide a pathway for dissipating the heat directly or radiantly to the surrounding environment. These heat sinks are, however, typically made of the same metallic material as the housings. When, however, these heat sinks are made of a different metallic material than the housings, the direct electrical contact between the housings and the heat sinks can lead to or produce a galvanic reaction, which, as known in the art, is an electrochemical process by which one metal corrodes.